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I would like a free prospectus con- taining more comPlete information on the Franklin U.S. Government Securities Fund, including sales charges and expens- es. I will read It carefully before I invest or send money. o I am currently a Franklin shareholder. Name Address City/State/Zip TNY94 560 - fRANJKLllNJ A Member of the $117 Billion Franklzn Templeton Group curred criticism for bestowing a papal knighthood on Kurt Waldheim, John Paul has built a bridge to the Jews. Reversing a decision by Jozef Cardinal Glemp, of Warsaw, he ordered the ejec- tion of Carmelite nuns from Auschwitz; overrode the objections of some of his own diplomats by sealing diplomatic relations with Israel; and became the first Pope ever to attend a service at a synagogue. The Pope became determined to reach those he could not see or touch, and to do so through modern communi- cations. He set out to use the media as never before-hence his deci- sion to bring in a powerful press operative. The Vatican still re- tains a vast architecture of official media which is as stodgy as anything permitted in Brezhnev's Soviet Union. The officIal newspaper, L' Osservatore Romano, is the Holy See's Pravda-a compilation of papal speeches and official editorials that can be read with insight only by trained Vaticanisti. The real me- dia, the Pope understood, were else- where. In 1984, he replaced an ineffectual spokesman, a priest named Romeo Panciroli, with Navarro-Valls, a Spanish journalist who had also been an appren- tice bullfighter and a physician. N avarro- Valls, a man made up of equal parts so- phistication, loyalty, and mystery, has long made clear his distaste for the old ways. To the despair of the Italian print reporters, he gave preference to television networks in the shaping of the Pope's global image. To the shock of some of his colleagues, he ordered an extravagant renovation of the press center on the Via della Conciliazione, and now it is far grander than the pressroom at the White House. And, to the chagrin of nearly all journalists, he has shown a willingness to mock the truth in the alleged service of the papacy. This summer, when the Pope said a public Mass during his vacation in the mountains of Valle d'Aosta, he was in obvious pain and looked as though he were not recovering well from the hip- replacement operation. The next day, N avarro- Valls told Italian reporters that the Pope was walking in the hllls for ninety minutes a day. Few believed him. Many of the Vaticanisti have further suspicions ofN avarro- Valls because he is a member of the conservative and highly secretive Opus Dei. This group, which THE NEW YORKER, OCTOBER 17, 1994 began in Spain and was close to the Franco regime, tries to recrui t top lay professionals as a way of forming a kind of élite order that might combat the influence of the intellectual left, especially in Latin America and Europe. One of the clearest signs of the Pope's conserva- tism has been his embrace of Opus Dei and its projects. Last year, Navarro- Valls's secretary called several Vatican correspondents, leading them to think that they would get an interesting story if they appeared at the spokesman's house a couple of months hence. But when the reporters arnved at the house they were treated to a recruiting film for Opus Dei. The Vaticanisti have finally concluded that there is not much to be gained from N avarro- Valls, especially when it comes to the Pope's health. A lame-duck Pope is not in the interests of the Church. The predicament for the Vaticanisti is that this spokesman is un- usually close to his master. "N avarro- Valls is getting closer and closer to the Pope," Father Antonio Pilayo, a corre- spondent for the Spanish newspaper Ya, told me. "Now that the Pope IS get- ting more fragile, Navarro will control more and more decisions. This is not good for us." T HE Pope's trip to Zagreb on Sep- tember 10th and 11th was a turn- ing point in his pontificate: the moment at which it became undeniable that he was an old man. As a Slav and a politi- cian, W ojtyla wanted desperately to make three stops on a tour of the former Yu- goslavia: Belgrade, Zagreb, and, most important, Sarajevo. Belgrade was struck from the schedule because of fierce objections from leaders of the Ortho- dox Church there. As for Sarajevo, the Pope's advisers were terrified that there was a potential for disaster. The Pope's diplomats took note that the city rests in the center of a deep bowl, with Bosnian Serbs still in the surrounding hills. The risk of a massacre, despite the ceasefire, was plain. It might have been possible to protect the Pope from snip- ers, but the crowds would still be in dan- ger. The Pope, insiders say, was deeply frustrated even showIng uncommon signs of temper in private meetings. Finally, at the last minute, the Pope conceded and cancelled, all the while